7 ms·

STTR: A system for tracking all vehicles all the time at the edge of the network

33 points by nuriaion 8y ago

d--b 8y ago
It's so sad to see that PhD students spend energy thinking about how to develop such policing systems. I don't understand it. Aren't these guys given any ethics class ? They should use their systems in their labs, tracking where everyone goes all the time, and store that data on one computer system available to the dean of the university (and his friends, the IT guys, and whoever knows about hacking)...
- jsty 8y ago
  Law enforcement might not be the only use for this (although it's the one that springs most readily to mind). E.g. in London there's the congestion charge, which would probably be much more effective in reducing congestion + emissions (or at least loading more costs onto those causing the issue) by charging per mile instead of a flat per day fee. A system like this would make that possible without requiring a tracker to be fitted to every car, although a growing number of people have these anyway for a reduced insurance premium.
- chatmasta 8y ago
  You might consider that not everybody shares the same ethical frameworks as you. What you consider morally wrong, others might not. Similarly there are often multiple use cases for technology, some more ethically ambiguous than others.
- jstarfish 8y ago
  > It's so sad to see that PhD students spend energy thinking about how to develop such policing systems. I don't understand it. Aren't these guys given any ethics class ? Ethics classes are usually elective. Most students elect to study more interesting topics.
- rurban 8y ago
  Such a system is already applied worldwide (by some people I know personally) for toll collection (and who knows what else). But it's much simplier. The optical carplate matcher is in every camera and no video is being sent for verification. With the timestamp and carplate you implement speed tracking. Without the video you ensure it's not used by normal police for speeding tickets.
purplezky 8y ago
STTR is a system designed to track all of the vehicles all of the time, and store their trajectories for ever. Sounds like it's illegal in Europe due to the GDPR.
- ovi256 8y ago
  GDPR restrictions do not apply to government activity, only to private non-personal ones.
  - rahulnair23 8y ago
    Governments do fall under the purview of GDPR. Do you have a source that states otherwise?
    - purplezky 8y ago
      https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/exemptions/ https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-da... Article 23 enables Member States to introduce derogations to the GDPR in certain situations. Member States can introduce exemptions from the GDPR’s transparency obligations and individual rights, but only where the restriction respects the essence of the individual’s fundamental rights and freedoms and is a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to safeguard.
  - purplezky 8y ago
    http://blog-idcuk.com/are-public-sector-organizations-exempt-from-gdpr-compliance-absolutely-not/ http://blog-idcuk.com/are-public-sector-organizations-exempt... After further investigation it seems you are right though that exclusions can be introduced for: * national security; * defence; * public security; * the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences; * other important public interests, in particular economic or financial interests, including budgetary and taxation matters, public health and security; * the protection of judicial independence and proceedings; breaches of ethics in regulated professions; * monitoring, inspection or regulatory functions connected to the exercise of official authority regarding security, defence, other important public interests or crime/ethics prevention; * the protection of the individual, or the rights and freedoms of others; or the enforcement of civil law matters.
nurgasemetey 8y ago
Why vehicle info(plate, not video) can not be sent to server? I think that trajectory can be computed much easier on a server.

33 points by nuriaion 8y ago

d--b 8y ago

It's so sad to see that PhD students spend energy thinking about how to develop such policing systems. I don't understand it. Aren't these guys given any ethics class ? They should use their systems in their labs, tracking where everyone goes all the time, and store that data on one computer system available to the dean of the university (and his friends, the IT guys, and whoever knows about hacking)...

jsty 8y ago
Law enforcement might not be the only use for this (although it's the one that springs most readily to mind). E.g. in London there's the congestion charge, which would probably be much more effective in reducing congestion + emissions (or at least loading more costs onto those causing the issue) by charging per mile instead of a flat per day fee. A system like this would make that possible without requiring a tracker to be fitted to every car, although a growing number of people have these anyway for a reduced insurance premium.
chatmasta 8y ago
You might consider that not everybody shares the same ethical frameworks as you. What you consider morally wrong, others might not. Similarly there are often multiple use cases for technology, some more ethically ambiguous than others.
jstarfish 8y ago
> It's so sad to see that PhD students spend energy thinking about how to develop such policing systems. I don't understand it. Aren't these guys given any ethics class ? Ethics classes are usually elective. Most students elect to study more interesting topics.
rurban 8y ago
Such a system is already applied worldwide (by some people I know personally) for toll collection (and who knows what else). But it's much simplier. The optical carplate matcher is in every camera and no video is being sent for verification. With the timestamp and carplate you implement speed tracking. Without the video you ensure it's not used by normal police for speeding tickets.

purplezky 8y ago

STTR is a system designed to track all of the vehicles all of the time, and store their trajectories for ever. Sounds like it's illegal in Europe due to the GDPR.

ovi256 8y ago
GDPR restrictions do not apply to government activity, only to private non-personal ones.
- rahulnair23 8y ago
  Governments do fall under the purview of GDPR. Do you have a source that states otherwise?
  - purplezky 8y ago
    https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/exemptions/ https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-da... Article 23 enables Member States to introduce derogations to the GDPR in certain situations. Member States can introduce exemptions from the GDPR’s transparency obligations and individual rights, but only where the restriction respects the essence of the individual’s fundamental rights and freedoms and is a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to safeguard.
- purplezky 8y ago
  http://blog-idcuk.com/are-public-sector-organizations-exempt-from-gdpr-compliance-absolutely-not/ http://blog-idcuk.com/are-public-sector-organizations-exempt... After further investigation it seems you are right though that exclusions can be introduced for: * national security; * defence; * public security; * the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences; * other important public interests, in particular economic or financial interests, including budgetary and taxation matters, public health and security; * the protection of judicial independence and proceedings; breaches of ethics in regulated professions; * monitoring, inspection or regulatory functions connected to the exercise of official authority regarding security, defence, other important public interests or crime/ethics prevention; * the protection of the individual, or the rights and freedoms of others; or the enforcement of civil law matters.

nurgasemetey 8y ago

Why vehicle info(plate, not video) can not be sent to server? I think that trajectory can be computed much easier on a server.